The concrete slab reinforced by steel bars has been the most commonly used type of bridge deck construction for highways. However, many of these highway bridge decks have failed, because of the corrosion of the steel bars and the disintegration of the concrete. Concrete decks are susceptible to transverse cracking and delamination.
Concrete and steel structural combination bridge decks have been used for many years in an attempt to overcome the disadvantage of the low tensile strength of concrete and improve performance. Many of these concrete-steel composite bridge decks include a steel grid which is filled and/or covered with concrete. Typically, these decks use a large quantity of concrete which increases the material cost and weight of the deck. In addition, many of these bridge decks require reinforcing bars or expanded metal to strengthen the concrete. While these reinforcing members may help strengthen the concrete, they are also susceptible to corrosion which contributes to structural failures.
It would be desirable to have a reduced-weight bridge deck which would have excellent strength characteristics, a reduced tendency for cracking, and which would be inexpensive to manufacture and assemble. In addition, it would be desirable to have a bridge deck which does not require reinforcing bars. Further, it would be advantageous if the bridge deck design was adaptable so that it could either be cast-in-place or made of precast panels.